Mostly known for its line of hunting, sport shooting, service and defense-oriented pump-action shotguns, the U.S.-based O.F. Mossberg & Sons company also manufactures several bolt-action hunting and sport shooting rifles which are quite popular in north America – much less in Europe so far.

Among Mossberg's latest bolt-action rifles are the Patriot series models, first showcased at the 2015 edition of the Las Vegas SHOT Show. Those elegant, reliable and affordable rifles are a good entry-level alternative for those shooters looking for an all-rounder gun that will fit the tight limits of a family man's budget without sacrificing quality and performance.

One year after the first launch of the Patriot line of bolt-action rifles, Mossberg boosted the series with the Patriot Scoped Combo rifles. Once again first showcased at the SHOT Show, the Mossberg Patriot Scoped Combo rifles are conceived as hunting or sport shooting ready entry level packages that shooters of any degree of experience – with a special consideration for novices, younger shooters or first-time buyers – can purchase at a bargain price and take to the field or at the range right out of the box.

As of today, the only version available in Europe is the one chambered for the .308 Winchester caliber – a true all-rounder cartridge for hunting and target shooting.

Mossberg's Patriot rifle is built around a push-feed, twin-lug, assembled bolt, round receiver drilled from bar stock action. The short-action bolt features two locking lugs, a sliding bolt-face extractor, a plunger-type ejector and a trapped, washer-type recoil lug. The bolt surfaces are spiral-fluted for a quicker throw, with a 45-degrees bolt opening angle.

On the right rear portion of the bolt assembly is a two-position manual safety stock. All external metal surfaces come with a matte black protective finish.

The 559 mm / 22" carbon steel, standard contour button-rifled barrel is free-floating and features straight-edge fluting and a recessed target crown; it is also chrome-lined and comes with right-handed spiral grooves (1 turn in 10"). Once again among the available finishes are matte black and Marinecote (for U.S. only).

The Mossberg Patriot rifle as seen here and as imported in Europe by Prima Armi comes with a black polymer stock with a straight buttstock, a Neoprene cheekpiece and a checkered pistol grip and handguard. Once again, U.S. shooters have other options available – walnut or laminate stocks. A solid polymer block insert within the magazine well provides a simple, yet effective bedding system.

The Mossberg Patriot rifles feed through proprietary flush-fit detachable magazines holding up to five rounds in standard chamberings and up to four rounds in Magnum chamberings – in our specific case, five rounds of .308 Winchester ammunition.

The Mossberg Patriot bolt-action rifle variant as dubbed the "American Hunter Package" in Europe and the "Scoped Combo" in the United States comes factory-issued with a factory-installed riflescope.

The baseline Scoped Combo rifle you see pictured on this page comes issued with an USOI 3-9x40 riflesight. It's just as entry-level as the rifle itself, nothing major but nothing really despicable: the body is machined out of aluminum, nitrogen-filled, and the general outline is quite run-of-the-mill, from the optical glass down to the turrets.

It will perfectly suit the needs of beginners and target shooters; more experienced shooters will be able to replace the issued scope with another one in no time.

An alternative scoped combo Mossberg Patriot rifle comes factory-issued with a Vortex 3-9x40 scope, definitely a high-quality product. That comes a little bit more expensive than the baseline model, but as of today, the Mossberg Patriot Vortex Scoped Combo rifles are available in the United States only.